Philippians 2: 14-15 14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”[c] Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky
Paul's instruction to the church in Philippi is for the purpose of building up believers so that Christ's Church is truly a light in the world. If the church in not in unity and oneness with one another and Jesus, we will look more like the warped generation instead of the family of God. I grew up in a family where four of us siblings were all in high school at the same time. Each of us was very aware that our behavior, our accomplishments, and our values were always being compared to our brothers and sisters. I imagine my younger brother, who followed us, faced the comparisons as well. Our successes helped the family name and the failings either hurt the family name or we were labeled as the rebel child. As I look back on those days, I know that I behaved better and tried to live up to the family name when I identified myself with my family. That is Paul's purpose here...as believers we need to claim our identity and the adoption as children into the family of God.
The result of embracing that identity can be found in verses 19-21 19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also 'may be cheered when I receive news about you. 20 I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. 21 For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.
Paul shows us his heart and points to Timothy's heart as hearts filled with "genuine concern" for others. I embrace God's word when he uses words like "genuine" because He is sharing His assessment and His joy in Paul and Timothy. They are looking out for others, just as Christ does. As Christ's church, we need to put His concerns above our own, and He demonstrated that concern as He hung on the cross between two sinners. He died so that He could make those who believe blameless, as He did with the thief who believed He was the Son of God. All of mankind is represented by those two thieves. We will either be the one who believes and finds salvation, or the one who mocks and defies His Love and Sacrifice and will be forever separated from the love of God. Jesus' desire is that all should come to believe, so as His children that desire should be our own. We need to seek His transforming power that comes by the Holy Spirit so that we may become blameless and pure, children of God so that we will shine among them like stars in the sky .
Discover and Proclaim the Truth of The Bible which is: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life." (John 3:16 NRSV). Jesus came to humanity to proclaim and give evidence to that love and He has commanded us to do the same. We, who believe, must not merely be followers, but we must be proclaimers of the Gospel Message and we can only do that by being filled with the love of God.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Ephesians 6: 10-19 The Full Armor of God
Ephesians 6: 10-11 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
Paul goes on to tell us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (vs. 12) These verses make it clear that we live in a world where we will encounter evil. In verse 13 it says Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground.... He doesn't say "if the day of evil comes" he says "when" it comes. There is no doubt that we are going to encounter evil and the only question is how will we face it. Will we succumb to evil, join in the evil, run from it, or will we confront it with the Lord and in His power?
Paul tell us to stand firm with the Belt of Truth buckled around our waist, with the Breastplate of Righteousness in place. When I think of the belt I picture a contractor with his tool belt. In his tool belt, he has all the tools he needs to accomplish his work...everything is right there within reach. Soldiers figure out how to carry their equipment and weapons so that in the heat of battle, they have what they need within reach. That is God's Belt of Truth. When we know God's promises and the truth of His love for us, we can face the work and the battlefield with confidence. With His Breastplate of Righteousness, we know that he will guard our hearts, so that we recognize evil for what it is and we embrace the righteousness of God which helps us stand firm. He Fits our Feet with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. That assures me that with the gospel message as our message, we will step into the battlefield with a purpose...to introduce peace and salvation to the world.
God also equips us with the Shield of Faith so that we can repel the attacks of Satan who tries to defeat us with lies, deception, doubt, and despair. Faith in Christ, defeats Satan. He also gives us the Helmet of Salvation...the promise and assurance of final victory...the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. God's word is more powerful than all the lies of this world. If we proclaim His word, seek His word, and share His word, we will experience His Mighty Power.
As we wake up each day, we need to know that we will be walking in a world where evil exists and Paul tells us to pray in the Spirit on all occasions. It is through prayer and the work of the Holy Spirit, that we will be clad in the Full Armor of God and live as victors...not victims.
Paul goes on to tell us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (vs. 12) These verses make it clear that we live in a world where we will encounter evil. In verse 13 it says Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground.... He doesn't say "if the day of evil comes" he says "when" it comes. There is no doubt that we are going to encounter evil and the only question is how will we face it. Will we succumb to evil, join in the evil, run from it, or will we confront it with the Lord and in His power?
Paul tell us to stand firm with the Belt of Truth buckled around our waist, with the Breastplate of Righteousness in place. When I think of the belt I picture a contractor with his tool belt. In his tool belt, he has all the tools he needs to accomplish his work...everything is right there within reach. Soldiers figure out how to carry their equipment and weapons so that in the heat of battle, they have what they need within reach. That is God's Belt of Truth. When we know God's promises and the truth of His love for us, we can face the work and the battlefield with confidence. With His Breastplate of Righteousness, we know that he will guard our hearts, so that we recognize evil for what it is and we embrace the righteousness of God which helps us stand firm. He Fits our Feet with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. That assures me that with the gospel message as our message, we will step into the battlefield with a purpose...to introduce peace and salvation to the world.
God also equips us with the Shield of Faith so that we can repel the attacks of Satan who tries to defeat us with lies, deception, doubt, and despair. Faith in Christ, defeats Satan. He also gives us the Helmet of Salvation...the promise and assurance of final victory...the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. God's word is more powerful than all the lies of this world. If we proclaim His word, seek His word, and share His word, we will experience His Mighty Power.
As we wake up each day, we need to know that we will be walking in a world where evil exists and Paul tells us to pray in the Spirit on all occasions. It is through prayer and the work of the Holy Spirit, that we will be clad in the Full Armor of God and live as victors...not victims.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Luke 24: 13-35...The Walk to Emmaus
The first sermon about Jesus' life after His resurrection was delivered by Jesus himself. These verses tell of Jesus' encounter with two believers walking to Emmaus after His crucifixion. We see that as they are walking Christ approached them, unrecognized, and listened to them and their confusion about what had happened over the past few days to Jesus of Nazareth. They shared with Him the events about Jesus being crucified and the empty tomb.
In verses 25-27 Jesus delivers the gospel message.. 25 Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26 Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. Jesus used the scriptures, the prophesies, the Word of God to teach these two men about Himself.
I find it interesting that He taught from the scriptures. He interpreted the Word of God which reveals Christ and in verse 32 we see the impact of God's word... 32 They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?”
Jesus knew and shows us here that the Word of God speaks to our hearts.. " so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11) We look for inspiration and direction from lots of books and put our trust in the teaching of others, when it is God Himself and the Bible where the true inspiration and direction can be found. Pastors today download sermons from the internet and buy sermon material online and the result is churches are dying. Scriptures point to and teach about Christ. Too many churches teach about us and how we are to live, how we are to eat, how we are to give, how we are to be, when God gave us His word so that He can transform us into His likeness.
We all, and especially pastors, need to spend more time in the scriptures seeking the truth of Christ so that OUR HEARTS WILL BURN WITHIN US AS THE SCRIPTURES ARE OPENED TO US!
In verses 25-27 Jesus delivers the gospel message.. 25 Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26 Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. Jesus used the scriptures, the prophesies, the Word of God to teach these two men about Himself.
I find it interesting that He taught from the scriptures. He interpreted the Word of God which reveals Christ and in verse 32 we see the impact of God's word... 32 They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?”
Jesus knew and shows us here that the Word of God speaks to our hearts.. " so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11) We look for inspiration and direction from lots of books and put our trust in the teaching of others, when it is God Himself and the Bible where the true inspiration and direction can be found. Pastors today download sermons from the internet and buy sermon material online and the result is churches are dying. Scriptures point to and teach about Christ. Too many churches teach about us and how we are to live, how we are to eat, how we are to give, how we are to be, when God gave us His word so that He can transform us into His likeness.
We all, and especially pastors, need to spend more time in the scriptures seeking the truth of Christ so that OUR HEARTS WILL BURN WITHIN US AS THE SCRIPTURES ARE OPENED TO US!
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